<p>Do Penn students use laptops a lot in class? If not, then should I just get a desktop? What do most students do?</p>
<p>Laptop. You want to be able to bring your own computer to the library.</p>
<p>I think laptop is more popular, but many people use desktops, and some use both desktop and laptop. So it depends on your preferences.</p>
<p>You definitely do not need a laptop in class. Still, I would prefer a laptop, just because it's smaller, more convenient, and you can move it in case you need to (like to the library, as snipanlol said, or any other part).</p>
<p>Most students buy laptops. Penn offers great deals on IBM/Lenovo laptops (like $1,500 off reg. price). They'll send you info in June probably about their sale. </p>
<p>Laptops seem to be far more popular than desktops, although some students choose to recreate a desktop environment by adding a second monitor, docking station, cordless mouse/keyboard, etc. But it's nice to be able to bring it to the library to work on group projects and stuff.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend a laptop. Lugging a desktop back and forth between Penn and your home might be inconvenient since you can't really just stick it in a suitcase like you can a laptop. Furthermore, you have the ability to take your laptop anywhere and still be able to tap into the wireless network. The only advantage I see to bringing a desktop would be if you are an extreme gamer who absolutely has to have the souped up video card, high-speed processor, huge monitor, etc. Otherwise I see more benefit to purchasing a laptop. A few people bring the laptops to class to take notes, so you can do that if you hate writing things by hand.</p>
<p>And shouldn't you extreme gamers be doing something more productive anyway? :P</p>
<p>Laptop, hands down. Apple laptop specifically (it now can run Mac OS AND Windows)</p>